Battersea Arts Centre unveils first season in Grand Hall after fire

Bryony Kimmings, Daniel Kitson, Little Bulb and Gecko will feature in the first season to be staged in Battersea Arts Centre’s Grand Fire since a fire destroyed the building three years ago.

As part of the reopening season, BAC has also announced that it will be offering more than 2,000 tickets to Grand Hall shows for £1, available to people on low incomes via charities and voluntary organisations.

Gecko’s Missing will reopen the Grand Hall in September, enabling the company to complete a run of the show that was playing when the fire struck in March 2015.

Kimmings will present her first solo show in nearly a decade, called I’m a Phoenix, Bitch, which draws parallels between her own life, the destruction of the Grand Hall and world events.

Other new work includes a month-long residency by Kitson in January 2019 and new commission Superblackman, which is described as a multi-artform mash-up exploring power, mental health and representation.

It will be directed by Lekan Lawal, who is a resident artistic director at BAC as part of Up Next, a scheme to develop the next generation of artistic leaders.

National Theatre of Scotland’s Adam will receive its London premiere in September, while Little Bulb will return to BAC with Orpheus, which was developed over a two-year period at the venue, first running in 2013 and returning as its 2018 Christmas show.

The season also includes a new immersive adventure called Return to Elm House, inspired by BAC’s history, and Dead Centre’s Chekhov’s First Play.

Elsewhere at BAC, Touretteshero, whose Not I is currently running at BAC, will host a celebration of accessible, immersive performance later this year.

Season at a glance

Missing by Gecko
September 6 to 15, with press night on September 6

Adam by Frances Poet
Directed by Cora Bissett
September 18 to 29, with press night on September 19

I’m a Phoenix, Bitch by Bryony Kimmings
October 3 to 20, with press night on October 8

Chekhov’s First Play by Anton Chekhov, Ben Kidd and Bush Moukarzel
October 31 to November 10, with press night on November 1

Superblackman
Directed by Lekan Lawal
November 15 to December 1, with press night on November 20

Orpheus by Little Bulb Theatre
Directed by Alexander Scott
December 5 to 30, with press night on December 7